CASH SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE IN KONDUGA

CASH SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE IN KONDUGA

Overall, households across all four population groups preferred cash-based food aid over in-kind, with 58% of households preferring cash, 34% preferring in-kind, and 8% expressing no preference. This preference was strongest among IDPs in camps (72% preferred cash and 23% in-kind), and least strong among the host population (50% cash and 39% in-kind). Between cash-based modalities, households expressed an overwhelming preference for unconditional cash (96% of the households that preferred cash-based assistance over in-kind) over conditional food vouchers (3% of households that preferred cash-based assistance over in-kind). However, this was likely because households did not have much previous knowledge about vouchers. In FGDs, where vouchers (along with all other modalities) were explained to participants in more detail, the response to vouchers was more positive. While unconditional cash was still the top preference in most FGDs, vouchers rather than in-kind was often the second-preferred option.

Methodology:

The assessment used a mixed methodology approach in order to gather different types of data from a range of sources. This section provides an overview of the methodology, although a more detailed description can be found in the Terms of Reference for the assessment, which are available upon request. All the data for this assessment was collected from 16-28 November.
The focus of the assessment was on two main areas: understanding beneficiary preferences for food assistance modality in Konduga, and evaluating the ability of food vendors in Konduga to respond to an increase in demand in the town.

Key findings:

Overall, households across all four population groups preferred cash-based food aid over in-kind, with 58% of households preferring cash, 34% preferring in-kind, and 8% expressing no preference. This preference was strongest among IDPs in camps (72% preferred cash and 23% in-kind), and least strong among the host population (50% cash and 39% in-kind). Between cash-based modalities, households expressed an overwhelming preference for unconditional cash (96% of the households that preferred cash-based assistance over in-kind) over conditional food vouchers (3% of households that preferred cash-based assistance over in-kind). However, this was likely because households did not have much previous knowledge about vouchers. In FGDs, where vouchers (along with all other modalities) were explained to participants in more detail, the response to vouchers was more positive. While unconditional cash was still the top preference in most FGDs, vouchers rather than in-kind was often the second-preferred option.

Sample size:

A total of 447 structured surveys were conducted with randomly-sampled households in Konduga Town, with the population divided into the following four groups based on settlement type for the purposes of sampling: 1) IDPs in camps (109 surveys); 2) IDPs li